American Idol 6, March 7th – It's All About the Yo

Randy likes it, too, and says finally the real Gina came out tonight. What he likes about her tonight is he always thought she was a rocker, and to now here some Evanescence, he loves it. He tells her to keep the edge alive as she got the “yo” going. Paula completely agrees, and says this is more or less who she imagined her to be. Paula does warn, though, that even though it’s exciting to sing with the band, she needs to not oversing, or she’ll fall a little flat. This is the type of thing that suits Gina best, though. Simon knows Gina enjoyed herself and says for the first time he saw her looking comfortable, and knows it’s because of his comments to her last week. This is the girl they were looking for when they put her in. Although she tended to scream a bit in it, he actually really hopes she makes it through, as she’s a breath of fresh air. By choosing more melodic songs, he thinks she could do well. He hopes the song wasn’t too extreme for the audience, but Gina deserves to be there.

When Ryan greets Gina onstage, he notices her “tears of joy,” and she says that’s the Simon she loves. Ryan tells her she has such a great personality and is a lot of fun to have on the show. Asked what made the difference for her this week, she says she needed to hear Simon ask where the edgy girl was. This is her. This is what she wears at home and what she’s comfortable in. She then stops, saying she’s stumbling on her words because she got a compliment from Simon Cowell. She continues, saying this is her. She’s comfortable and got to rock out with Ricky Minor and the band. Ryan notes it must be a proud moment for her, as her boyfriend is in the audience with the stuffed pickle on his chest.

Melinda Doolittle has some things about her that her friends like to call OCD, but she likes to think of it as Equal Opportunity. If she chews a certain amount of food on one side of her mouth, she needs to do it on the other side. If she steps on a crack with one foot, she needs to do it with the other. If she touches something cold with one hand, she needs to touch something cold with the other. It’s all about equality for her, as we’re all in this together. Tonight, she’s only equal to Lakisha, though, as she blows it out of the park with I’m a Woman, done by many artists, but it always makes me think of a commercial from when I was back in high school. It was for a perfume I wore called Enjoli. You have to sit back here and say wow, where the heck did she come from with this. She can sing Aretha, can sing classics like My Funny Valentine, and now can pull this sultry thing out? Wow.

Randy tells Melinda people are jumping up and down clapping for her because she’s the hottest one of the night and deserves it. He calls her a consummate pro, and says he thinks she’s ready to go in the studio and make a record. She got it going, and got the show on blast. Paula asks Melinda if she ever thought she’d be up on stage getting adulation and applause. She deserves it, though, as she’s phenomenal and so lovable. Paula tells her she’s brilliant onstage, and she can’t wait every week to see what the next rabbit is that she’s going to pull out of her hat.

Simon gets that sly smile and calls her a little tiger, and notes he thought she was a pussycat. He loved it and says it’s quite obvious, and she doesn’t need him to tell her how good she is. He notes again Melinda is very nice and enjoying every second she’s having on the show. Some previous contestants have called the show a stepping stone, but he can tell she’s loving her time in the spotlight. He’s sure one million percent that we’ll see her next week. Ryan tells her to get ready for top 12 and not look so scared. She needs to own it.

Unlike with the guys, there’s no additional questions added in tonight. I still think the lock is on for Melinda, Lakisha, Gina, and Jordin, The remaining two spots are between the other four. Stephanie may get lost in the votes for Melinda and Lakisha, and Sabrina is good, but doesn’t wow us. Haley and Antonella just don’t measure up, and I’m sure Haley is one that is leaving for sure. However, Antonella has picked up popularity with her internet pictures, and it will be interesting to see if she lasts here. Hearing from some of her fans the past week, they seem to enjoy her look more than anything else, so this one should have excited them quite a bit. I won’t be shocked if she stays and either Sabrina or Stephanie leave.